Dubai – Mubasher: Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), a subsidiary of DP World, announced achieving a 17% growth in its non-oil foreign trade to reach 27.9 million tonnes in 2016 from 23.9 million tonnes in 2015, according to a statement on Sunday.
Jafza’s total trade value amounted to $80.2 billion.
“The value and volume of trade through Jafza underlines the strength of the national economy and its ability to adapt to global trading conditions, create investment opportunities, and open up new markets to exports from the UAE,” chairman and CEO of DP World Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem said.
During the first half of 2017, the UAE handled 7.7 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), recording an annual growth of 4.3%, while the growth rate reached 6.6% in the second quarter of 2017, bin Sulayem added.
He referred to Jafza’s role in contributing more than 21% to Dubai’s gross domestic product (GDP), which bolsters the economic diversification policy, noting that Jafza has been able to thrive through flexible policies, innovation adoption, and encouragement of employees and clients.
